Rex
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Post by Rex on Mar 11, 2019 10:47:27 GMT
I have a choice on Tuesday. My hotel is 6 miles from both Egham Town & Molesey's grounds and both are at home that evening. Egham Town are bottom and playing 2nd placed Bracknell Town, Molesey are one from bottom and playing 3rd placed Marlow. I can't decide which to go to!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2019 11:11:36 GMT
I have a choice on Tuesday. My hotel is 6 miles from both Egham Town & Molesey's grounds and both are at home that evening. Egham Town are bottom and playing 2nd placed Bracknell Town, Molesey are one from bottom and playing 3rd placed Marlow. I can't decide which to go to! I've done neither but I know Bracknell have some dead nice supporters. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 9:41:44 GMT
Another weekend again, a delayed flight on the Friday saw us scamper to Borussia Monchengladbach. I've already ticked Borussia Park, but it was the lads I was with first trip. Borussia Monchengladbach's ground is a big, concrete bowl. A good game Freiburg took the lead early on before Gladbach equalised before half time. The game ended 1-1 and we headed back to Köln.
Day two and we were all set and go to Bonner vs Lippstadt, unfortunately rain had put pay to that and plenty of other fixtures in the Regionalliga. We ended up hopping on a train to Düsseldorf to watch Fortuna Düsseldorf II vs Wattenscheid 09. We went in the away end for a bit more atmosphere and a topsy turvy game ended 2-2. I'm not really sure how the visitors didn't win.
Onto Frankfurt on Sunday, saved around £40 each by getting local trains from Köln, however I took 2 hours longer. We finally made it to Frankfurt and headed to the ground on a tram. Eintracht faced Nürnberg off the back of a win against Inter in Milan. Eintracht were by far the superior side missing a hatful of chances and having a goal chalked off for offside after a VAR review. A good atmosphere and enjoyable afternoon and trip.
Probably my last divvy trip for a bit, going to look to save some money and potentially do something a bit more interesting in the future!!
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Rex
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Post by Rex on Apr 8, 2019 12:56:03 GMT
Does anyone (i.e. Chewy!) know the paly off dates for various non league play offs? I have tried looking at Evostik websites and a few others but it really isn't clear at all (well not to me anyway) hoping to plan a few business trips around them if I can.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2019 13:18:18 GMT
Does anyone (i.e. Chewy!) know the paly off dates for various non league play offs? I have tried looking at Evostik websites and a few others but it really isn't clear at all (well not to me anyway) hoping to plan a few business trips around them if I can. Probably best to keep an eye on this thread
Looks like delicious Non-League chaos at the moment.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2019 9:34:02 GMT
A weekend of football and cricket over Easter;
Friday - AFC Wimbledon vs Rovers
Saturday - Wealdstone vs Dulwich Hamlet
Sunday - Middlesex vs Gloucestershire
Monday - Rovers vs Rochdale
Tuesday - Gloucestershire vs Kent
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on May 2, 2019 22:05:39 GMT
I went to Moss Lane last night for the first time to watch Altrincham v Blyth in an absolute ding-dong of a Conference North playoff game (2-2 AET, 7 rounds of penalties). Loved it - can't believe I haven't been before. A proper local non-league ground with real character. Tight against the houses but a Twerton-esque feel to the stands. Plus beer festival going on which always helps - will definitely be back.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on May 13, 2019 1:15:10 GMT
Have you done Prague Chewie?
If not, can highly recommend it. I was there with work and had Saturday, didn't fancy normal touristy stuff so took a leaf out of your book and went to a couple of Czech Division 1 games. Sparta in the evening was alright but the really awesome one was Bohemians 1005.
The Czech league has recently switched to a similar system to Scotland - they split the league up into sections for the last set of games. So you have a Championship group of the top 6 and a relegation group of the bottom 6 each playing each other once in the final stretch. Unlike Scotland they also have 4 in the middle though - who slightly bafflingly go into a playoff competition, with one of them earning the right to then go into another playoff (with the teams that finish 4th, 5th and 6th in the Championship group) for a Europa League qualifying round spot. It's real high octane stuff!
Anyway, Bohemians were in the relegation group against Olslovak and their ground/matchday was terrific. A proper neighbourhood stadium tucked tight in among the apartment blocks in an area a couple of miles out of the Centre. Really atmopheric, very nice people and the ground had a beer garden in it! I know they have a St.Pauli like reputation but I think that's doing them a slight disservice in the sense that I think it's a different kind of vibe. More like general eccentricity and community orientated than the kind of counter-cultural stuff St Pauli has. The green and white kit is terrific as well. I get the impression they are kind of Prague's 3rd club (and a pretty distant 3rd at that behind Sparta and Slavia who are the giants) although maybe Dukla pips them to that. Their stadium is 3 sides - with an ultras open end and then an average sized mainstand with an open away stand opposite. Only downside it there being no terracing but I understand that is a Czech Div 1 requirement apparently. Game was an absolutely terrible 0-0 draw but the atmosphere was fantastic throughout.
In comparison Sparta was a bit dissapointing but I think that's as much to do with them having had a pretty average season. Czech League choose a bad year to swith to the Scottish style system because Slavia have run away with the Championship and the 2nd (Plzen) and 3rd (Sparta) had pretty much wrapped up their respective spots too. So wasn't much to play for in the new system. The ground was about 1/6th full. It was a pretty cool stadium though and you could tell that it would be jumping if full for a big domestic or European night. But they were clearly going through the motions on Saturday. I've only ever been to 2/3 games outside the UK before so I was interested in the ultra's display beforehand as the flags for each sub-grouping were paraded around the pitch. Is that quite a standard thing? The game was a bit better than the other one. Finished 1-0 Sparta against Liberec with the home team benefiting from some pretty generous refereeing decisions (Liberec should have had 2 stonewall penalties). It's an old, tight bandbox of a ground with a platform (a kind of open concourse) going all round the outside where you can get beer and food. That made it quite distinctive.
So Prague was ace and I reckon I may have a bit of a bug for this now. I can see myself doing more (at least with the smaller clubs - good way to see the non-tourist bits). I'm also returing to Prague and am tempted to try and complete the set by going to Slavia, Dukla and Viktoria Zhikov. The last one was opposite my hotel and looked the most interesting of the lot but weren't playing at home this weekend. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 8:23:02 GMT
Yet to do any in the Czech Republic, I've heard good things though. If you're heading back the Strahov Stadium is worth a look around. The second biggest stadium ever built with a capacity of 250,000. It was used for synchronised gymnastics but now contains 9 football pitches. A couple of teams play there but you can apparently just stroll in and have a look around.  |
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eppinggas
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Ian Alexander
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Post by eppinggas on May 14, 2019 11:24:33 GMT
Irish - See page 18 of this thread... all I had to do was persuade the missus it was a 'good idea' to watch the Bohemians / Slavia local derby the evening before our 25th wedding anniversary.
Let's just say it didn't go down well and I did not attend.
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eppinggas
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Ian Alexander
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Post by eppinggas on May 14, 2019 11:29:00 GMT
And sh*t. I just realised that I went up that funicular railway just to have a look at the view and didn't realise I was only about 200 yards away from Strahov Stadium.
Prague is lovely but I obviously bollocksed up the football / stadium side of things.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on May 15, 2019 9:42:28 GMT
Irish - See page 18 of this thread... all I had to do was persuade the missus it was a 'good idea' to watch the Bohemians / Slavia local derby the evening before our 25th wedding anniversary. Let's just say it didn't go down well and I did not attend. I'n sure she'd have loved it..... |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2019 11:25:00 GMT
Pondering getting Spurs done with a Pre-Season there against Inter, tickets will be cheaper and it's on a Sunday.
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Rex
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Post by Rex on May 17, 2019 5:39:42 GMT
Pondering getting Spurs done with a Pre-Season there against Inter, tickets will be cheaper and it's on a Sunday. Is Spurs really a new ground though? I will probably go there just because, but I cant get out of my head that it's pretty much the same place. |
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eppinggas
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Post by eppinggas on May 17, 2019 8:55:16 GMT
Pondering getting Spurs done with a Pre-Season there against Inter, tickets will be cheaper and it's on a Sunday. Is Spurs really a new ground though? I will probably go there just because, but I cant get out of my head that it's pretty much the same place. Local reports suggest it really is not the same place! Happy ground hopping. |
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2019 9:40:00 GMT
Pondering getting Spurs done with a Pre-Season there against Inter, tickets will be cheaper and it's on a Sunday. Is Spurs really a new ground though? I will probably go there just because, but I cant get out of my head that it's pretty much the same place. The 92 Club are saying it is, with regards to ground redevelopments I go with them. I think they said something before that there had to be a 75% overlap to be the "same ground". So Wembley and Dean Court are the same, however the New Spurs Stadium isn't. |
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on May 17, 2019 11:26:46 GMT
Is Spurs really a new ground though? I will probably go there just because, but I cant get out of my head that it's pretty much the same place. The 92 Club are saying it is, with regards to ground redevelopments I go with them. I think they said something before that there had to be a 75% overlap to be the "same ground". So Wembley and Dean Court are the same, however the New Spurs Stadium isn't. I like the idea that a committee had a 3 day crisis meeting with much banging of fists on tables and factional infighting in order to establish these principles...... |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2019 11:51:10 GMT
The 92 Club are saying it is, with regards to ground redevelopments I go with them. I think they said something before that there had to be a 75% overlap to be the "same ground". So Wembley and Dean Court are the same, however the New Spurs Stadium isn't. I like the idea that a committee had a 3 day crisis meeting with much banging of fists on tables and factional infighting in order to establish these principles...... Groundhopping is bloody weird, my top tip would be work to your own rules and make sure it's fun. Otherwise you end up like some folk doing 20 minutes of four games to get four ticks after a 200+ mile journey. Bonkers. |
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on May 17, 2019 15:51:02 GMT
I like the idea that a committee had a 3 day crisis meeting with much banging of fists on tables and factional infighting in order to establish these principles...... Groundhopping is bloody weird, my top tip would be work to your own rules and make sure it's fun. Otherwise you end up like some folk doing 20 minutes of four games to get four ticks after a 200+ mile journey. Bonkers. Yeah - I think I have enough other weird completist tendencies without jumping into this particular web. I shall remain a casual groundhopper! I do admit that Prague has changed my perspective a little bit though - I'd always turned my nose up at going to football in other countries for no other reason than it seemed like a waste of the time I was spending there. Ie. Why go somewhere and then do the same thing you do at home anyway? But, going to Bohemians made me realise the obvious point that it's a good way of getting out of the tourist traps and seeing the 'real' city and interacting with 'real' local people. So I've definitely changed my mind on that - but I like the idea of concentrating on the smaller clubs where possible.
I do have a question for you as someone who watches a lot of this sort of football. The really striking thing about the Czech experience to me was the massive difference in quality between the 2 games. These were clubs that were basically in the same division but that's clearly an accident of geography. If these clubs had been in one of the larger countries in Europe there'd have 2 or 3 divisions between them. So the question is whether this is a good or bad thing? On the one hand it gives cohesion and support for a league but couldn't it also be argued that it hold the top clubs back and prevents smaller clubs from ever competing and so leagues end forever frozen?
Clearly the issue of big clubs stuck in small leagues has been discussed to death and so have European Superleague arguments. But if you were Sparta/Slavia Prague wouldn't there be some value in exploring a central/eastern Europe League of the bigger clubs? You'd still struggle to compete with the big leagues but at least you could get some more consistent quality of competition and fan excitement if you were playing against say Rapid Vienna, Basel, Legia Warsaw, Dynamo Kiev, Steaua etc. It's not that outlandish an idea- some version of that idea existed both before the Second World War and during the late Soviet era.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2019 8:54:54 GMT
Groundhopping is bloody weird, my top tip would be work to your own rules and make sure it's fun. Otherwise you end up like some folk doing 20 minutes of four games to get four ticks after a 200+ mile journey. Bonkers. Yeah - I think I have enough other weird completist tendencies without jumping into this particular web. I shall remain a casual groundhopper! I do admit that Prague has changed my perspective a little bit though - I'd always turned my nose up at going to football in other countries for no other reason than it seemed like a waste of the time I was spending there. Ie. Why go somewhere and then do the same thing you do at home anyway? But, going to Bohemians made me realise the obvious point that it's a good way of getting out of the tourist traps and seeing the 'real' city and interacting with 'real' local people. So I've definitely changed my mind on that - but I like the idea of concentrating on the smaller clubs where possible.
I do have a question for you as someone who watches a lot of this sort of football. The really striking thing about the Czech experience to me was the massive difference in quality between the 2 games. These were clubs that were basically in the same division but that's clearly an accident of geography. If these clubs had been in one of the larger countries in Europe there'd have 2 or 3 divisions between them. So the question is whether this is a good or bad thing? On the one hand it gives cohesion and support for a league but couldn't it also be argued that it hold the top clubs back and prevents smaller clubs from ever competing and so leagues end forever frozen?
Clearly the issue of big clubs stuck in small leagues has been discussed to death and so have European Superleague arguments. But if you were Sparta/Slavia Prague wouldn't there be some value in exploring a central/eastern Europe League of the bigger clubs? You'd still struggle to compete with the big leagues but at least you could get some more consistent quality of competition and fan excitement if you were playing against say Rapid Vienna, Basel, Legia Warsaw, Dynamo Kiev, Steaua etc. It's not that outlandish an idea- some version of that idea existed both before the Second World War and during the late Soviet era.
It’s something that’s certainly discussed more than you’d think. I know the KNVB and RBFA discussed a potential Bene League around Euro 2000. Retaining domestic cups but having a top flight where teams from both countries can get promoted into. Now this works with two feeder countries but beyond that the system would get more complex and probably end up like the current mess that is the NL Playoff system. At the moment in Central Europe, I don’t think there’s currently an appetite for it, the league would be nearly 30 years behind the PL in establishment and the finances would be problematic. The launching of UEFA’s third club competition is basically a way of placating clubs like the ones you’ve mentioned. I do think going forward joining leagues together would be beneficial for both “domestic” leagues and clubs in European competition. Just not as large as you’ve said. Think a Swedish/Danish League, Baltic League, Austro-Hungarian League, Czechoslovakian League, these sorts of things. |
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